The vertical current sheet (VCS) trailing coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is the key place where the flare energy release and the CME buildup take place through magnetic reconnection. It is often studied from the edge-on perspective for the morphological similarity with the two-dimensional ``standard'' picture, but its three dimensional structure can only be revealed when the flare arcade is observed side on. The structure and dynamics in the so-called supra-arcade region thus contain important clues to the physical processes in flares and CMEs. Here we focus on the supra-arcade spikes (SASs), interpreted as the VCS viewed side-on, to study their spatiotemporal structures. By identifying each individual spike during the decay phase of four selected flares, in which the associated CME is traversed by a near-Earth spacecraft, we found that the widths of spikes are log-normal distributed, while the Fourier power spectra of the overall supra-arcade EUV emission, including bright spikes and dark downflows as well as the diffuse background, are power-law distributed, in terms of either spatial frequency $k$ or temporal frequency $ν$, which reflects the fragmentation of the VCS. We demonstrate that coronal emission-line intensity observations dominated by Kolmogorov turbulence would exhibit a power spectrum of $E(k)\sim k^{-13/3}$ or $E(ν)\sim ν^{-7/2}$, which is consistent with our observations. By comparing the number of SASs and the turns of field lines as derived from the ICMEs, we found a consistent axial length of $\sim\,$3.5 AU for three events with a CME speed of $\sim\,$1000 km/s in the inner heliosphere, but a much longer axial length $\sim\,$8 AU) for the fourth event with an exceptionally fast CME speed of $\sim\,$1500 km/s, suggesting that this ICME is flattened and its `nose' has well passed the Earth when the spacecraft traversed its leg.
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are dark voids descending through plasma above the post-flare arcade. Although they are generally viewed as byproducts of flare reconnections in the corona, the nature of SADs is under debate. Here we investigated six distinct episodes of SADs observed in the post-maximum phase of an M-class flare of April 11, 2013. Differential emission measure analysis revealed that SAD cases occurring close to the flare maximum contain an enhanced hot plasma component at 5--7~MK whereas those occurring later exhibited a depression in hot plasma at 7--12~MK compared to the ambie…
We perform a detailed analysis of the thermal structure of the region above the post-eruption arcade for a flare that occurred on 2011 October 22. During this event, a sheet of hot plasma is visible above the flare loops in the 131 Å bandpass of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the {\it Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)}. Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are observed traveling sunward through the post-eruption plasma sheet. We calculate differential emission measures using the AIA data and derive an emission measure weighted average temperature in the supra-arcade region. In areas where m…
We report on interaction of the legs of the erupting filament of 2012 August 31 and associated prominent supra-arcade downflows (P-SADs) as observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We employ a number of image processing techniques to enhance weak interacting features. As the filament erupts, both legs stretch outwards. The positive-polarity leg also untwists and splits into two parts. The first part runs into the conjugate (negative-polarity) leg, tearing it apart. The second part then converges into the remnant of the conjugate leg, after which both…
Context. Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) have been frequently observed during the gradual phase of solar flares near the limb. In coronal emission lines sensitive to flaring plasmas, they appear as tadpole-like dark voids against the diffuse fan-shaped "haze" above, flowing toward the well-defined flare arcade. Aims. We aim to investigate the evolution of SADs' thermal properties, and to shed light on the formation mechanism and physical processes of SADs. Methods. We carefully studied several selected SADs from two flare events and calculated their differential emission measures (DEMs) as well …
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are dark, teardrop-shaped features descending upon flare arcades. They are thought to be the results of magnetic reconnection, but the detailed formation mechanism of SADs and their relationship to flare energy release are still unclear. In this work, we explore the thermodynamical properties of SADs in the 2011 October 22 limb flare using the observations of the Solar Dynamics Observatory/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly and an improved Differential Emission Measure (DEM) technique. Different heating events around SADs are identified and the propagation speeds of pla…
Solar flares are rapid energy release phenomena that appear as bright ribbons in the chromosphere and high-temperature loops in the corona, respectively. Supra-arcade Downflows (SADs) are plasma voids that first come out above the flare loops and then move quickly towards the flare loop top during the decay phase of the flare. In our work, we study 20 SADs appearing in three flares. By differential emission measure (DEM) analysis, we calculate the DEM weighted average temperature and emission measure (EM) of the front region and the main body of SADs. It is found that the temperatures of the S…
Coronal supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are observed as dark trails descending towards hot turbulent fan shaped regions. Due to the large temperature values, and gradients in these fan regions the thermal conduction should be very efficient. While several models have been proposed to explain the triggering and the evolution of SADs, none of these scenarios address a systematic consideration of thermal conduction. Thus, we accomplish this task numerically simulating the evolution of SADs within this framework. That is, SADs are conceived as voided (subdense) cavities formed by non-linear waves tr…
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are infrequent, wiggly opaque structures observed to descend through the solar corona, mostly in EUV and soft X-ray frequencies. From their physical characteristics, SADs have been interpreted as voided (subdense) bubbles and are related to magnetic reconnection processes during long-term erupting flares. In this work we use numerical MHD simulations to compute flux density maps, which are convolved with telescope beams to synthesise images with the aim to assess the expected SADs emission at radio wavelengths and propose observing strategies, including the instru…
Supra-arcade downflows (SADs) are dark structures descending towards post-reconnection flare loops observed in extreme ultraviolet or X-ray observations and are closely related to magnetic reconnection during solar flares. Due to the lack of statistical study on SADs in a single flare, evolutions of kinematic and thermal properties of SADs during the flare process still remain obscure. In this work, we identified 81 SADs in a flare that occurred on 2013 May 22 using observations of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The kinematic properties of each …
Simulation of dark lanes in post--flare supra--arcades
Costa et al.(2009)和Shulz et al.(2010)首次使用两个1.5D的模拟,我们在数值上重现了Verwichte et al.(2005)描述的观测暗流。我们表明,黑暗的轨道可以解释为热等离子体真空上游产生的一个缓慢的磁声冲击波所产生的局部沉积的能量。在这项工作中,我们表明,整体二维结果与观测行为一致。然而,他们显示出轻微的变化的特征参数相对于那些以前发现的。此外,我们确认定性的行为发现在以前的文件,即对于一个给定的数值域的扭结状结构的周期是一个函数的磁场强度:较大的周期与较低的磁场强度。与1D结果相反-其中由于其专门的波导作用,向阳动态与磁场强度无关-在2D模拟中,对于较大的磁场值,向阳速度较大。这可以解释为低日冕等离子体将能量沉积准直到磁场方向的能力。低密度和高温等离子体腔的运动特征一致,具有比邻近介质更大的结构参数β的内部值。因此,空洞似乎是一个整体的非线性相互作用的冲击和波等离子体上下文的出现结构比空洞的等离子体磁结构的环路。
Solar flare termination shocks have been suggested as one of the viable mechanisms for accelerating electrons and ions to high energies. Observational evidence of such shocks, however, remains rare. Using radio dynamic spectroscopic imaging of a long-duration C1.9 flare obtained by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), Chen et al. (2015) suggested that a type of coherent radio bursts, referred to as "stochastic spike bursts," were radio signatures of nonthermal electrons interacting with myriad density fluctuations at the front of a flare termination shock. Here we report another stochast…
As one of the most spectacular energy release events in the solar system, solar flares are generally powered by magnetic reconnection in the solar corona. As a result of the re-arrangement of magnetic field topology after the reconnection process, a series of new loop-like magnetic structures are often formed and are known as flare loops. A hot diffuse region, consisting of around 5-10 MK plasma, is also observed above the loops and is called a supra-arcade fan. Often, dark, tadpole-like structures are seen to descend through the bright supra-arcade fans. It remains unclear what role these so-…
Coronal X-ray sources (CXSs) are phenomenon very often occurring in solar flares regardless of a flare size, duration or power. The nature of the sources was difficult to uncover for many years. It seems that at last, combining data from RHESSI and SDO/AIA, there is a unprecedented possibility to 'look inside' CXSs and to answer the questions about their formation, evolution and structure. We present a study of a CXS of the SOL2011-10-22T11:10 long-duration flare observed simultaneously with RHESSI and SDO/AIA. We focus our attention on the following questions: What was responsible for the CXS…
We present AIA observations of a structure we interpret as a current sheet associated with an X4.9 flare and coronal mass ejection that occurred on 2014~February~25 in NOAA Active Region 11990. We characterize the properties of the current sheet, finding that the sheet remains on the order of a few thousand km thick for much of the duration of the event and that its temperature generally ranged between $8-10\,\mathrm{MK}$. We also note the presence of other phenomena believed to be associated with magnetic reconnection in current sheets, including supra-arcade downflows and shrinking loops. We…